CIAO DATE: 08/2008
July 2008
After decades during which they saw their influence consistently decline, Lebanon's Christians are in a position to once again play a decisive political role. The May 2008 Doha agreement, coming in the wake of Hizbollah's takeover of West Beirut, provides the Christian community with the opportunity to regain an important place on the political map and to advance demands that have long been ignored. Already, Christians have obtained key positions in the new government, which was formed on 12 July. But the Doha agreement goes well beyond.
The Doha accords have ushered in three significant changes. First, they led to the election as president of Michel Suleiman, the former army commander. As a result, the Christians recovered the institution to which they are constitutionally entitled but whose effective powers had considerably diminished since the crisis began in 2004. The new president is likely to be courted by political actors of all stripes, each seeking to shape decisions he will face at his term's outset. These include initiation of a dialogue on a national defence strategy (which, ultimately, will have to include the question of Hizbollah's weapons), preparation of the 2009 parliamentary elections and the definition of new relations between Syria and Lebanon founded on mutual respect for sovereignty.
Resource link: The New Lebanese Equation: The Christians' Central Role [PDF] - 594K